Semen Gresik eyeing up coal trading firm, Indonesia

Published:
06 September 2011

PT Semen Gresik, Indonesia’s biggest cement maker by volume, is considering setting up a coal-trading firm later this year to secure supply and help lower its production costs, the Kontan daily reported Tuesday.

Consumption of coal to generate power contributes around 30% to Gresik’s overall costs. Higher coal prices pushed the company’s costs up 7% in the first half of the year, the daily said.

"We aim to establish [the trading company] this September or October," Finance Director Ahyanizzaman said in the report. "We will focus on trading...this year and may only seek [coal mine] acquisition opportunities next year."